Monday, June 26, 2017

Baby Driver Review (2017)

Perhaps the best thing about Edgar Wright as a filmmaker is
that he really uses the medium. Unlike, say, Judd Apatow, who’s enamored by the
long winded riffing between two experienced comedians (interactions that are
generally captured in boring medium and close up shots) Wright shrewdly marries
editing, action choreography, sound and cinematography together to create zany,
genre blending experiences.* Yes, his
hyper, always-moving style can sometimes feel relentless and wear thin
(particularly during the third act) but for the most part they make for a fun
time at the movies. Wright’s latest film, “Baby Driver” is no exception.

“Baby Driver” is exuberant, fast paced and tightly scripted.
There’s not much in the way of fat—no scene goes on longer than it needs to.
The picture isn’t just a collection of jokes and improve-y back and forths
poorly glued together to resemble a feature length film. Wright firmly believes
in narrative and structure to keep things organized and the action moving.
Story and character come first, while the humor flows effortlessly out of them.
“Baby Driver” keeps to a meticulous and playful comedic rhythm, sort of like a
classic screwball comedy with more music, heavier cutting and a lot more action.

Wright also likes working within established genres. “Baby
Driver” embraces a well-worn sub genre of the crime film—an expert criminal
trying to get out that dangerous life but that life wont let him leave. In this
case, that expert criminal is a young (talented) getaway driver known as “Baby”
(Ansel Elgort). A good kid who mostly means well, he works for the master
criminal Doc, (Kevin Spacey) doing jobs to pay off a debt he acquired years
ago. Once he finishes paying off said debt, Baby wants to leave, especially
after meeting diner waitress Debra (Lily James) but this proves to be more
difficult than he thought.

“Baby Driver” is Wright’s hyper screwball take on films like
“Thief” and “Drive.” It’s kinetic and cartoon-y, with a palpable undercurrent
of violence and danger. The criminals that Baby brushes up against, including
Bats (Jamie Foxx) and Buddy (Jon Hamm) are cold-blooded and sadistic.

The most inventive thing about “Baby Driver” is the way it
uses music and sound. Baby’s most prominent characteristic is that he’s always
listening to music on his IPod, to drown out the constant ringing in his ears
caused by a childhood accident. As a result, Baby structures his entire life
around the music he’s listening to, including his getaway driving. In one
scene, just as the crew he’s working with is about to pull off a bank-robbing
job, Baby makes them wait temporarily so he can sync it up with a song. Music
is his way of dealing with his personal trauma as well as a method for
maintaining order among disorder. He makes this dangerous life just a little
more tolerable.

Almost every scene is
scored with some pop or rock song, which in turn informs everything else in the
frame. The editing, the blocking, the choreography and all the individual Foley
sounds are synched to whichever song Baby decides to play, making for vigorous,
carefully constructed symphonies of action and sound. In another scene, an
entire gunfight is synched to the song “Tequila.” (Wright is one of the few directors
who can make a gunfight or a car chase funny). In this regard, “Baby Driver” is
Wright’s manic, clever take on the musical.

Admittedly,“Baby
Driver” lacks the emotional and character depth of Wright’s best films. Outside
of Baby, the other characters are thinly developed and his relationships, with
Doc, Debora, or his deaf guardian Joseph (CJ Jones) aren’t as poignant or
fleshed out as the bromantic bonds in films like “Hot Fuzz and “Shaun of the
Dead.” Wright’s frequent collaborators Nick Frost and Simon Pegg are absent
from this outing, both in front of and behind the camera, which can be felt.

Additionally, the picture goes off the rails during the last
act; the action begins to get a little repetitive and tedious while the
narrative loses focus. It takes a peculiar outlaw-lovers-on-the-run turn
involving Baby and Debora that doesn’t quite work. The way Debora gets thrown
into the central criminal action is too far fetched. In fact the romantic angle
overall, while cute, feels a bit shallow and forced.

Even so, “Baby Driver” is a lot of fun and continually
demonstrates just how great a comedic (and action) filmmaker Wright is. Lesser
Wright is still worth experiencing on a big screen.